Topic: The Trouble with Literature. The course will examine
concepts and theories pertaining pertaining to the cultural and
political definition of literature. Each session will address a
major moment in the history of literary thought, in chronological
and thematical order. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, through
Diderot and Kant, to Freud, Jameson, Derrida and Cixous will cover a
wide range of questions from: What is literature? What is the
literary canon? What roles do authors, readers and critics play in
the making of literature? What is the moral and political
responsibility of the writer? What are the geopolitical borders of
literature? Required readings: Aristotle's "Poetics", Kant's
"Critique of Judgement", Genette, "Fiction et diction", and
Spivak, "In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics". Taught in
English with readings in French and English.